Wednesday, 18 December 2013

I travelled to Paris for the first time in November 2013. I had this shot of the Eiffel Tower in mind before I arrived, but just as I went to take it a large bus pulled up right in the centre of the frame. After waiting 20 minutes for it to leave again, this was the photo that resulted.

Wednesday, 27 November 2013

The University of Southampton runs a race car aerodynamics course for fourth year engineering students. One of the labs for the course involves changing front and rear wing angles on a 1/2 scale F1 car model in a wind tunnel, and looking at how the downforce on the front and rear of the car, and thus the balance of the car, changes.

This is the model in the 11' x 8' test section of the R.J. Mitchell wind tunnel, the largest of the university's wind tunnels, in November 2013. The model was donated to the university by the BAR Honda F1 team in 2006, and is a design from the 2001 season.

Wednesday, 20 November 2013

Sunset over Brighton's West Pier, taken on a SUPS trip in October 2013. The pier was built in 1866, and was closed in 1975 after maintenance costs became too high. After damage from several storms over the years, and a couple of fires in 2003, this is all that remains of the structure.

Wednesday, 6 November 2013

Pictured here is Avro Lancaster PA474 from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at RIAT 2013. A total of 7,377 Lancasters were built between 1941 and early 1946. Around 3,500 of these aircraft were lost on operations, with around 200 more destroyed or written off in crashes. The remainder were scrapped when their services were no longer required, leaving this one and one in Canada as the only two airworthy examples today.

PA474 was completed at the Vickers Armstrong Broughton factory at Hawarden Airfield, Chester on 31 May 1945. The Second World War in Europe had just come to an end, and so she didn't take part in any hostilities. After a brief time in storage, she had various roles including photo reconnaissance work, aerial survey duties and being a test platform for experimental aerofoil sections. In preparation for her photo reconnaissance duties, she had her gun turrets removed and she was stripped back to a bare metal finish.

In 1964 she was adopted by the Air Historical Branch, with the intention of displaying her in a planned RAF museum. She was transferred to 44 Squadron in 1965, and work began to restore her. By 1966, both front and rear turrets had been replaced, and she gained permission to fly regularly again in 1967. She joined the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in 1973, and had her mid-upper turret fitted in 1975 after one was discovered in Argentina.

During her time she has appeared in the two films "Operation Crossbow" and "The Guns of Navarone".

She is seen here painted in the colours of "Thumper Mk III" of 617 Squadron, which was one of the replacement Lancasters issued to the squadron after the Dambusters raid in 1943.

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

This image was taken in the car park of the M40 motorway services at Oxford in August 2013. I was actually trying to capture one of the birds of prey that could be seen circling above, but they didn't come close enough. I was just about to put my camera away when I spotted this bee on a plant next to the car.

Wednesday, 23 October 2013

In August 2013, my girlfriend and I went on holiday to Croatia. We stayed in the town of Bol on the island of Brač, off the mainland near Split. This is a view of the town's harbour. I can recommend the restaurant "Pumparela" to the left of frame where they do an excellent steak, which is brought out to you on a hot stone still cooking so that you can choose how rare you want it for yourself.

Wednesday, 16 October 2013

A family of Barn Swallows was nesting near to a holiday cottage in Mavis Enderby, near Spilsby in Lincolnshire, where I was staying in July 2012. This juvenile, lacking the long tail streamers of the adults, landed on a roof just outside one of the windows, allowing me to get this shot.

Wednesday, 18 September 2013

Another image from RIAT 2013. This is an RAF Tornado GR4 of No. 617 "Dambusters" Squadron. It has been painted with special tail art that commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Dambusters raid, which took place during the Second World War. In this daring low-level night raid, Lancaster bombers of No. 617 Squadron equipped with Barnes Wallis' "bouncing bomb" attacked dams in the Ruhr valley region of Germany. The special bomb was designed to bounce over the surface of the water in the reservoir of each damn avoiding torpedo nets, before hitting the dam, sinking and exploding at a certain depth. The aim of the raid was to damage the dams and disrupt the industries located in the valleys below.

Wednesday, 11 September 2013

SUPS took part in the National University Photographic Society (NUPS) London Photo Hunt in November 2012, where we were given the task of photographing 25 things around London. Whilst walking through a damp Trafalgar Square looking for the next subject on the list, I noticed the reflection of St Martin-in-the-Fields church on the floor and took the image seen here.

Wednesday, 4 September 2013

The Great Western Railway (GWR) 2800 Class 2-8-0 steam locomotive was designed by G. J. Churchward for heavy freight work. The prototype was built in 1903, and the class entered production in 1905. Locomotives of this class were the first in Great Britain to have a 2-8-0 wheel arrangement. This particular locomotive, No. 2807, was completed in October 1905 at Swindon as part of the first production batch of the class. She was withdrawn from service in March 1963, and was rescued from a scrapyard in June 1981 and restored. She is seen here on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway at Winchcombe station in September 2012.

Monday, 19 August 2013

SUPS held a light painting workshop one evening in February 2013. One of the most popular and spectacular techniques was the one pictured here. A ball of wire wool is stuffed inside a whisk, and a length of string is tied to the handle of the whisk. The wire wool is set on fire and the whisk whirled around. With a suitably long shutter speed, some dramatic patterns of light can be captured.

The Southampton University Photographic Society (SUPS) travelled to Prague in the Czech Republic in January 2013. This image was taken in St. Vitus Cathedral, which is located within Prague Castle on the hill overlooking the city.

British Airways took delivery of their first Airbus A380 on July 4th 2013. On July 20th, it was joined in the air by The Red Arrows for a flypast at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at RAF Fairford.

I bought my first digital SLR in January 2011, and have taken many photos since. I have created this blog as a place where I can share some of my favourite images. I plan to upload a photo here once or twice a week, and will start by uploading five images to get started.

About Me

Tim Heffernon

London, United Kingdom

I have always enjoyed taking photos; first with compact film cameras, then with digital compacts as technology improved and became affordable. I bought my first digital SLR in January 2011. I like to shoot a variety of subjects, but my main interests are animals, places, and transport. This blog is a place for me to share some of my favourite images.

I was the president of the Southampton University Photographic Society for the 2014-15 academic year, having also been treasurer for 2013-14. I also shot events, performing arts, and sports for other university societies and sports teams with the society's Events Team.